March 2018
The explosive growth in the e-commerce market has challenged distribution centers to meet demand. Read the March cover story to learn how to make warehouse logistics - Faster. Smarter. Safer.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 530,774 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.4 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending September 16 were 260,771 carloads, down 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2016, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 270,003 containers and trailers, up 0.9 percent compared to 2016.

One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2016. It was metallic ores and metals, up 3,292 carloads, to 24,696. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,552 carloads, to 9,083; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,063 carloads, to 16,605; and farm products excl. grain, and food, down 1,943 carloads, to 14,625.

For the first 37 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,570,798 carloads, up 4.1 percent from the same point last year; and 9,860,655 intermodal units, up 3.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 37 weeks of 2017 was 19,431,453 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending September 16, 2017, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 362,507 carloads, up 0.002 percent compared with the same week last year, and 353,452 intermodal units, up 4.1 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 715,959 carloads and intermodal units, up 2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 37 weeks of 2017 was 25,760,998 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.1 percent compared with 2016.

Canadian railroads reported 86,678 carloads for the week, up 11.9 percent, and 72,269 intermodal units, up 17.5 percent compared with the same week in 2016 and the most for any week in history for Canadian railroads. For the first 37 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,325,540 carloads, containers and trailers, up 11.6 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 15,058 carloads for the week, up 2.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,180 intermodal units, up 7.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 37 weeks of 2017 was 1,004,005 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.7 percent from the same point last year.